//------------------------------// // 11 - Angel // Story: Blink Again // by Amarandream //------------------------------// “Well, it can’t be entirely hopeless! Have you tried having somepony grab onto the clone before it disappears?” “Yes! Listen, Rarity, I’ve tried just about everything—and if I haven’t, another version of me has. I even tried affixing a note to a dart and sticking the clone with it. It didn’t work. Nothing works.” “But there simply has to be a way!” “Does there? Celestia, Luna, Starlight, and even Starswirl the Bearded have all teleported before, and as smart as they are, none of them have ever shown up screaming about pocket dimensions before. If they failed, what makes you think I have what it takes?” “Because you’re you. You have what none of them do.” “What? Plentiful friends? The Element of Magic?” “No, darling. Science!” “...” “What?” “You’re joking.” “Not at all. Where are the charts, the diagrams, the analytics? Magic may not work here, but your brain most certainly does. So, stop pretending otherwise, you—as our oh so eloquent, cerulean friend might put it—egghead.” Fluttershy smiled as her two friends burst into a round of laughter. She may not have joined in on the conversation, but she agreed with Rarity’s sentiment. Even if there really was no hope, Light would be better off if they could convince her there was. Nopony could live without hope. Of course, those lighthearted chuckles lasted only a moment before Light quickly reminded Rarity that, as inspiring as her speech was, just saying “Science!” wouldn’t actually make any solution present itself. Light and those who came before had, in fact, already tried “science.” The problem was that there was no useful way to measure progress and they had never once gotten any kind of atypical reaction to occur. Naturally, Rarity took none of that for an acceptable answer, and they were right back at it. Fluttershy allowed her focus to drift, no longer paying attention to the conversation. Instead, she eyed Sweetie Belle, laying with her face half-buried in Rarity mane. She’d fallen asleep almost an hour earlier, which was why the two mares had felt now an appropriate time for one of their more candid conversations—especially since Rarity seemed to vacillate between hopeless and resolute with every tiny shift in mood, and was presently in the latter state. Of course, as far as she let Sweetie know, she was always in that state. Fluttershy’s gaze continued out into their surroundings, searching for anything amidst the muck that might hold her interest. It wasn’t that she found her friends and their conversation uninteresting or anything like that; she just knew she would have nothing of value to say. More than that, she didn’t want to risk irritating one of her friends by chiming in with the wrong note on such a touchy and emotionally draining topic. Something moved out amongst the carcass piles, small and white as snow. Fluttershy blinked. Could it be...? No... Fluttershy stood up, taking a step away from the others, eyes searching for any sign of what she thought she’d just seen. “Fluttershy, dear, are you alright?” Fluttershy froze, then quickly turned on hoof, facing Rarity. “Oh, uh, yes. I just... need to take a walk. Yes. To, um, gather my thoughts.” “Alone?” Light’s raised eyebrow looked more than unconvinced. “Fluttershy, if something is wrong, I’m sure Rarity or I can help. You really shouldn’t be wandering off on your own, especially given Twi’s current condition.” Fluttershy sighed. “Please, Light, Rarity, I’ll be fine. I just need to take a walk. Maybe I’ll stop by and see how Twi is doing on the way. I’m sure she won’t hurt me.” Her friends shared a glance, before Light turned back to her with an uneasy expression. “I mean, if you’re sure that—“ “Light,” Fluttershy interrupted as gently as possible, “I’m not a foal. I know you’re just looking out for me, but I can handle myself.” Her friend sighed. “Of course. Sorry. I’ll see you in a bit.” Fluttershy nodded, then turned and walked away from the others. It was time she found whatever that white thing was. Of course, it was probably nothing at all—just a figment of her imagination—but she had to check it out, just in case she had, in fact, seen what she thought she’d seen. Should she have told the others about it? Maybe, but she didn’t want to worry them over nothing. That would only make them feel on edge, and Celestia knew there had been enough tension lately as is. Besides, it wasn’t as if anything so small could pose any kind of real danger anyway. When she was no longer within sight of the others, she sped up to a trot and began carefully searching around the corpses, trying to limit any direct contact with the bodies. It took a good minute or two, but soon enough she saw it: a white blur flashing across her peripheral vision. Fluttershy took after the blur at a canter, unsure she was even heading in the right direction, but given little other choice than to pick a path and go. As she rounded a picked-clean pile of skeletons, she caught sight of a fluffy white tail just as it disappeared behind a Twilight that had been impaled with some sort of makeshift bone spike. Said Twilight was missing an eye and still had a horrified expression on its face, but Fluttershy did her best to ignore it and focus on her goal. Sights like that were way too common for her to get hung up on every one. She caught another glimpse of her target ahead. Floppy ears. It could only be one thing, though how it got there, she couldn’t say. There had been no popping sound normally associated with teleportation. “Angel?” she called out. “Is that you? Where are you? Please, come to Fluttershy. It isn’t safe for you here alone.” She came to a halt, having lost sight of the rabbit and unable to tell which way it went. Fluttershy furrowed her brow. How could Angel possibly be there? Was there another explanation? None of it made sense—not the lack of a pop nor the fact that he was still of the purest white despite the grime he’d been running through. And why wouldn’t he come to her? If she was in his position, she’d be clutching onto the first friendly thing she could find. Those thoughts were driven from her mind the moment the bunny reappeared, jumping out from behind a pile of broken glass to rest beside a shallow pool of blood a short distance off. “Angel?” Fluttershy smiled, relieved to see her animal friend. “Oh, it is you!” Angel took one look at her, sniffed, then turned and dived into the blood puddle, making not one sound or splash as he went in. “Angel!” Fluttershy rushed to the puddle, only to drop her jaw in shock when she found it undisturbed and too shallow to conceal an entire rabbit besides. The only thing there was her own dull reflection—nothing but messy pink hair, stained yellow coat, and bloodshot eyes. “Oh...” she sighed. Had she imagined the whole thing? It seemed far too vivid for that. Still, there hardly seemed any other explanation, unless she truly was just going crazy. That would make sense, given what she had been through, but it was perhaps the last thing she wanted to consider. Fluttershy rested upon her haunches, frowning to herself. She supposed there was nothing more to do but to return to Light and explain the situation to her. Perhaps she, as smart as she was, could offer a more logical and far less disturbing explanation than those Fluttershy’s mind conjured. “Aw, why the long face?” Fluttershy shrieked, bolting to her hooves at the unexpected voice. The voice that came from right beside her. She twisted her neck back and forth, trying in vain to find the source of that voice, that voice that sounded almost like a more confidant, colder version of her own. It sounded so nearby, yet she was baffled to find not the slightest hint of another's presence. She was crazy. She had to be going mad. That was the only— "Ahem. Down here." Fluttershy nervously lowered her eyes to the crimson pool, hemmed in and kept from draining to the center of the area by rotted flesh. All that met her was her own reflection, though now it was ringed by some sort of shimmering, white aura. She frowned. That was strange. Some trick of the light, perhaps? But what light? Surely there wasn't enough to— The reflection grinned at her, appearing almost playful—the exact opposite of Fluttershy’s horrified expression. She felt all color drain from her face as she quickly backed away from the puddle. "No..." "Yes," the reflection replied with a smirk. "This is happening, Fluttershy. You cannot deny reality again. It already broke your mind once. But don't worry, I'm here to help with that. I'm here to make sure you mend... correctly. You see, you and me, we're allies. Friends." Fluttershy scooted back several more steps, now feeling thoroughly ill, before turning and galloping back toward the others. Whatever that thing said, she seriously doubted it was her friend. Maybe it was some monster from the Everfree or somewhere else just as horrifying, teleported in by the current Twilight. Yes, that had to be it. It was a monster, just one capable of looking like her and hiding in reflections. A new kind of changeling? Some sort of magical, illusory creature? Light would probably know. She could deal with it. Something snagged around one of Fluttershy's hooves, sending her sprawling to the ground. Panicked, she looked up and to the rear, trying to gauge just how far behind she’d put the thing. The puddle was still only a few pony-lengths behind her. It was impossible, of course—she galloped much further than that—but there it was. Maybe she hadn't galloped half so far as she thought. Such a great discrepancy seemed ridiculous though. She'd have to be insane. A yellow-gray hoof shot out of the puddle, sending Fluttershy sprawling back into a cower at the sight of it. Blood oozed off it as the hoof sought purchase on solid ground. A second hoof followed soon after, it too bracing itself against the ground beside the puddle. Fluttershy's breathing quickened and her eyes shot wide as saucers as she watched the creature pull itself out of the reflection, appearing a mirror image of herself, yet with a grayish tinge to the coat and a shimmering silver light surrounding its head like some sort of distorted halo. The thing provided Fluttershy a mirthless smile, and she snapped her eyes shut in response. She was frozen out of fear, unable to move or scream or dare look at the thing for a second longer. She began to violently shake as one thought drove itself through her mind again and again. This had to be a dream. Nothing more than a nightmare. She'd wake up beside Light and Rarity and Sweetie Belle, no sign that this Tartarus-spawn ever existed. She would be safe, as safe as could be in this place anyway, and that was— A hoof placed itself gently against her shoulder, and the pegasus nearly shot straight out of her own coat and skin. "Don't be afraid. I'm only here to help. You can trust me." Fluttershy forced her eyes open, even if just into a hesitant squint, meeting the hard, cyan eyes of her strange double. She nearly squeaked at the sight of them. Physically, there was no one thing she could point to as being wrong with them, but nevertheless, something was unmistakably off. It took her a moment to realize, but when she did, she almost screamed; it was as if the creature had no soul. "Wh—what are you?" the cowering pegasus made out, quickly breaking eye contact with the thing in favor of staring down at her own hooves. If a smirk could be both a sound and a feeling, Fluttershy definitely sensed it coming from the thing as it cockily responded, "Why, I'm your guardian angel, of course." "But, there's no such—" "Fluttershy, is that you? What's going on over here?" Fluttershy perked up at the sound of a newcomer's voice. It was Light. Surely, she would know what to do about this so-called guardian angel. She always knew just how to help. She spun around, coming to face... Twi. Even as dark and grimy as everything was, the limp and scar still made the other pony unmistakable. "Shy," the alicorn continued, "what's going on? Why are you out here alone?" "Alone?" Fluttershy shook her head, then glanced to the side. Her double was gone. It was just her and Twi. Her and Twi. It suddenly struck her that even with that thing gone, she was still in no better of a position. The wary, confused pony standing opposite her had already tried to kill Fluttershy once, and tried to convince Sweetie Belle to accept an assisted suicide. However honest Twi's intentions seemed this time around, Fluttershy couldn't trust her, no matter how much she wanted to. "Yes, alone," Twi insisted. "Princess Twilight could teleport any number of dangerous things—pony-eating monsters; volatile potions, just ready to explode; even other ponies. It isn't safe. You should return to the others." She paused, hesitating for a moment as if considering whether or not she should continue. "Or... you could come back with me. I know more about this place than Light, and I have a journal you might benefit from reading." "Oh, um, no. That's okay," Fluttershy nervously said as she slowly backed away. She knew about this journal, and she very much doubted it would do her mental state any favors to read it. "I only came out here for a walk to, um, gather my thoughts. You really don't need to worry about me." She stopped her backward pace, having felt the tip of her tail dip into the very pool of blood that thing came out of. Twi canted her head to the side, eyes narrowing into slits as she entered some form of Twilight analysis mode. "You're lying to me, aren't you? You aren't here to take a walk, or to gather your thoughts, and something is most definitely wrong. Given the way I overheard you talking to yourself... Are you hallucinating yet? You shouldn't—given that you are still far more nourished than Light or I—but I suppose with the kind of trauma we've all endured, anything is possible." "Hallucinating? Um..." Lies! Fluttershy froze. Had she really just hear that? It sounded like her double’s voice—a more confident yet cold version of her own—except with an echoing effect, as if it was bouncing around inside her own skull. She'll say anything to make you doubt yourself, to make you believe she can help. Don't you see it? She wants you to go back with her. Fluttershy gulped, nervously eyeing Twi while she vacillated between whether or not to trust either one of them. She will kill you. You know that, right? And when she is done, the others are next. My guess? Sweetie Belle dies first. "But... what do I do?" Fluttershy whispered, a sound barely audible even to her own ears. Turn her away. Say you'll scream for help if she comes any closer. The only path to safety lies with Light and Rarity. They will protect you—for now, anyway. She slowly nodded, then looked up to meet Twi's gaze, doing everything she could to appear fierce and confident, even if the result probably looked more stressed than anything else. "Please leave me alone. I will be fine. I'm going back to the others." Twi took another step forward. "But—" "No," Fluttershy cut her off, trying to remember everything she learned from Iron Will. "You will leave. Now. If you do not," she took a moment to steady her nerves, making sure her next words came out as evenly as possible, "I will scream for help." Twi's eyes shot wide in alarm. "You would do that?" She sighed, shaking her head—though it appeared to be more at herself than anything else. "Then I have scared you off too. I'm sorry." She abruptly turned and limped off the way she came, occasionally glancing over her shoulder at the yellow pegasus. The moment the alicorn was out of sight, Fluttershy's forced confidence came crashing down on itself, leaving her just a pony, scared and alone in the dark. Of course, she wasn't alone for very long. Her double stood beside her once more, eyeing the direction that Twi had just left in. "You know, it's only a matter of time." "Until what?" "Until that one hurts somepony. Kills somepony. She needs to be stopped, and soon." Fluttershy nervously met its soulless eyes. "Uh, and what exactly do you mean by that?" It smiled. "Just that your friends are counting on you, counting on you to be strong, counting on you to do the right thing. And I think you know exactly what I mean by that." Fluttershy blanched. No...